Story My experience caring about dental hygiene after long-term neglect

[kuniwan]

Sharing my ups and downs with dental care and hoping you guys can share your hygiene struggles too.

Last year I decided to suck it up and schedule a visit with the dentist for the first time in 6 years… around 2 weeks or so before the visit I tried to brush daily so I would feel less nervous. When I was there I lied about brushing daily (I mean I guess i technically did at that point! Lol) but I did tell them I never flossed. They responded by explaining the importance of flossing… which felt a little patronizing tbh because my problem was getting myself motivated enough to do it but ofc I don't blame them

It felt like they were a little judgemental to me for that to be honest, but they remained cordial so I don't care. In the end, I was diagnosed with 6 cavities, gingivitis and learned that my wisdom teeth were in pretty bad shape. What I didn't like was that they immediately tried charging me treatments with such brief education that it almost felt a little predatory? For example, I told them I did not use a regular tooth brush to which they recommended an electric toothbrush would be better for my teeth. They proceeded to try and charge me $150 for an electric toothbrush… I took it off my charges and bought a different one for $60.

Anyways, I scheduled subsequent appointments to get my cavities fixed, future cleaning appointments, and they also gave me this mouthwash regimen to use for my gingivitis that I never followed (oops).

However, since then I would say I DO brush and floss better overall, even it's still not great. Sometimes I'm able to do it once everyday, sometimes I only floss, or just nothing. Never twice a day.

Today, I brushed my teeth for the first time in a month in a half, and flossed in likely 3 weeks. While my cavities are fixed now, I still need to figure out the logistics and finances for my wisdom teeth. Anyways just sharing to show that progress isn't really linear or perfect, but it for sure counts for something.

 

[Mooncry]

Teeth brushing is something I've always struggled with. As a kid, I never did it, and my parents never checked or told me to. (Not even the worst of the neglect I experienced, but I digress.) It took me until my mid-teens to finally start doing it somewhat regularly because I didn't want to have terrible breath.

Now I do it pretty consistently every other day, right before showering. I also floss every time, which having the little floss picks instead of the string floss helps a ton, especially with my small mouth. I've found that having a YouTube video to watch while I do it makes it so much more tolerable also.

I dunno why I've always hated doing it so much. It's just boring and doesn't give me any dopamine I guess lol. But it does feel great to have a clean mouth. ^-^

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

I too have struggled with dental hygiene, but have been getting better. While I still don't brush every day, it's gotten better and my tolerance for how dirty my mouth gets before I force myself to do it has become smaller. The floss picks help a ton, and I use really nice brushes and toothpaste. Still gotta work my way up to every day.